Two talented freshmen took different paths to UW hoops stardom

The 6-foot-9 big man with a diverse skill set that made him one of the nation’s top prospects could have played anywhere.

He could have selected Kentucky, Duke or Michigan State. The upstate New York native could have stayed closer to home and played at Syracuse. He could have gone wherever he wanted. His future was in his control. But, as he made his choice, the McDonald’s All-American went back to a moment when he was 14 years old. His decision was based on a relationship, not a school. He chose trust over prestige. He decided to play for coach Mike Hopkins. “I’ve known him since I was 14 years old,” Stewart says. “Being from upstate New York, he coached at Syracuse. He came up to watch me work out and things like that.”

Hopkins didn’t just get to know the teenager, he made the recruit feel like he could accomplish everything he wanted to on a basketball court.

“He told me when I was younger that he believed I would be the best player in the country,” Stewart says.

Long before he decided to play for Hopkins, the coach championed the big man’s cause.

“For a coach to say that to me that young, he really saw something in me,” Stewart says.

So, when it came time to make a choice, well, there wasn’t much of a decision to make. Stewart selected Washington because he wanted to play for Hopkins. He traveled more than 2,500 miles away from home to build something with the coach who believed in him.

“The experience has been great. Coach Hop and the staff have been working hard every day at practice to make us the best players we can be,” Stewart says. “The season has been great. We have a young team and we’re just trying to get better every day.”

Stewart has been as a good as advertised, averaging more than 18 points and eight rebounds per game in his first season (totals through Jan. 16). He is learning the college game in real time, taking the best shot of each opponent the Huskies face. And, he is more than holding his own.

“I’m just trying to work on a little bit of everything,” Stewart says. “Being a freshman and facing double teams, triple teams every night, it forces you to grow up really quickly, mature really quickly when you step foot on the court every night.

“You’re going to get your opponent’s best, because it’s their Super Bowl game, their ticket to play against you.”

And, as Stewart grows, Hopkins is with him every step of the way. They align well together, both through their work ethic and drive to succeed.

“I just look at Hop as someone who’s like me,” Stewart says. “He’s very determined. He always wants to go out and play hard, compete against the saiah Stewart had a tough decision to make.

best in the country and just take names. I look at him as a dog.

“We connect so well, because he’s so hungry, never satisfied.”

When Hopkins was recruiting Stewart, not only did he tell the teenager he could be the best player in the country, but Hopkins made a promise. He said he would be the one on the court, leading the individual workouts in addition to practices.

“He told me during the recruiting process he would be working with me every day, getting me better every day, doing everything in his power to do that,” Stewart says. “He’s been truly honest to that. But, not only with me, he does that with everyone.” For a coach to make that kind of guarantee isn’t unique, but Hopkins’ level of follow through has impressed Stewart in his first season at Washington.

“You really don’t find too many head coaches who are actually working players out,” he says. “They usually have assistants or someone else doing it, but he will be the one running the workout with you, banging with you, using the pads against you, moving with you. He does that with all our players.”

hile Stewart decided to travel across the country to play college basketball, fellow freshman Jaden McDaniels made a different choice. He picked the same school, but he didn’t have to travel quite so far, fewer than 30 miles up I-5.

The Federal Way product, who was also a McDonald’s All-American, chose to stay close to home. He felt comfortable.

“It wasn’t that hard,” he says. “I was comfortable being here. This is the school I was always at. It wasn’t really anything new to me. It was just a comfortable situation for me.”

Stewart added, “His journey was to stay home and put on for the home team, and mine was to come out west with coach Hop from upstate New York and build a legacy on the West Coast.”

While the teammates come from different places, their reasons for selecting Washington line up.

“It was the people who were here, my teammates and the coaching staff, just being comfortable with them,” McDaniels says. W

Each chose Washington because they believe in what Hopkins is building. “It’s like a brotherhood,” McDaniels says. “We’re just trying to have fun together. We know each other’s goals. We just help each other try to reach that.”

And, while they come from different places and bring their own personalities, McDaniels said the similarities run deep between the freshmen standouts.

“We’re not really that different,” he says. “We’re both laid-back, chill, funny, crazy at times.”

And, they’re both working to make the most of their opportunity with Hopkins and the Huskies.

“The experience has been great,” Stewart says. “Coach Hop and the staff have been working hard every day at practice to make us the best players we can be. The season has been great."

tewart traveled to Washington because Hopkins helped a 14-year-old believe he could be the best player in the country. McDaniels chose the Huskies, because he believed Hopkins had the hometown school pointed in the right direction. Stewart and McDaniels had unique reasons for joining the program, but now that they’re here, their journeys are aligned.

“We’re trying to stay true to the Dawg pack,” Stewart says. “The pack stays together, doesn’t leave anybody out. You always have your brother’s back, no matter what. We play as one. We celebrate as one.” And, Stewart says, their goals are the same. “We’re just trying to leave Washington in a better place than it was before we came here.” S